Janus
by quillor
Summary: AU. Ralph made a last-minute decision to transfer to the prestigious Baxton Academy in hopes of receiving a better education, in a better environment. Evil, though, has its way of wrecking paradise - and it will come in the least expected forms of disguise. Jack/Ralph


**AU – The island incident never happened.**

Ralph's eyes were tearing up as the steam welled from the rails and onto the platform. From beyond the clouds of smoke, he could see the train coming to a stop – a gigantic, black steel monster that snorted and bellowed while people bustled to prepare for boarding. He wiped the corners of his eyes, hunched down to haul at his two suitcases. He didn't quite know whether to be happy or sad. It was finally time to leave.

"Ralph!" came a voice, gasping and out of tune with the clacking heels it came with. He turned and was immediately smothered by her mother's hug. "What are you doing? You're not leaving before saying goodbye to your dear old mother!"

Ralph protested, and failed miserably when his mother pulled him into a long and deliberate squeeze. "Do you remember what I told you? All my golden rules?"She placed both hands on Ralph's cheeks. He was sixteen and still in his growth spurt (as evidenced by his looming stature over his mother), but she somehow managed to treat him like a little child. Ralph nodded, abashed.

"Mom, I'm going to be late," he murmured, wriggling himself out of her grip. He could see uniformed young boys – all about his age – snickering and nudging each other as they ran past. Ralph's cheeks colored. It would be his first day in this all boys' prestigious boarding school and he had already made a bad impression of himself. He felt the urge to push away, but he hadn't the heart to do so. He understood why she would be fussy. Ralph's father was a high-standing Navy officer; he was always away on a voyage and he wouldn't be back for another few months. After today, his mother would be the only one living in their home.

"Alright," she finally sighed, clasping her hands together and looking at Ralph as if she had just seen him for the first time. "Be good, Ralph."

Ralph smiled, bent down and gave his mother one last hug. "See you, mom."

Her trembling arms went around him, one last time, before a high-pitched whistle warned Ralph that the train was still on a schedule, with or without him. With a mad dash, he grabbed his suitcases, promised his mother that he'll write her letters, and jumped on board before making a beeline for the nearest compartments.

The first one he came to was full with the boys he saw before, laughing and chattering loudly as they arranged their suitcases. They were indeed fellow students from Baxton Academy, and he quickly moved away as to avoid attracting attention. To his chagrin, though, his luck didn't improve much with the next few compartments. Most were filled to the brim, and those that weren't only had adults or love struck couples, snogging fervently. Ralph cringed and moved on, starting to doubt his own sanity for transferring schools in the first place.

It had been a split-second decision to do so, actually. He was doing very well in his old school; he was good with sports and academics were almost a breeze. His father thought he was way too good to be stuck in the small school. Despite Ralph's dream of going to military school and eventually following in his father's footsteps, he was urged to apply to the most prestigious school in the region – Baxton. And to his surprise, he got in.

Still, he knew things wouldn't be easy. It was only the train ride, and he felt self-conscious already. The laughter and exciting stories that floated through the train aisle made him feel cornered, alone. Ralph absently wondered if he would have to stay in the aisle for the whole ride, but judging by the number of people that had shoved through the narrow aisle, he could tell that it wasn't really an option either. And self-pitying would definitely never find him a seat.

Peering hopefully into the next compartment, he was surprised to find out that his fortune had changed dramatically. It was empty. Well, aside from the bespectacled boy sitting in the corner, completely engrossed in his thick book. He was rather stout and porky, with hints of red on his plump cheeks. He seemed like a statue in his Baxton uniform; only the momentary movements of his fingers flipping through the pages of the book gave away the fact that he was a live human being. Ralph wondered why this boy wasn't celebrating a reunion with his friends as he knocked, and slid the door open.

The stout boy's head snapped up immediately, and Ralph smiled sheepishly at him. "May I sit here?"

Small eyes blinked rapidly from behind the black-rimmed glasses, as if not comprehending, before the boy started to nod. "Yes. Sure."

Thanking him quietly, Ralph moved on to stash away his suitcases before finally sitting down to properly introduce himself. "I'm Ralph," he said, extending his hand. "I'm new here."

The bespectacled boy hesitated for a while, seemingly debating something with himself. It took a few seconds before he finally reached out and shook Ralph's hand. "...Piggy."

Ralph almost grinned with juvenile glee, but his maturity kicked in and he frowned at the oddity of the name. "Um, Piggy?"

The other boy nodded, looking somewhat defeated. "Well, it's Oliver, but everyone calls me Piggy."

Ralph caught on when he saw the boy's irritated expression. He felt slightly embarrassed – he, too, used to be one of those immature kids who laughed at the fat girl in class, or at the scrawny runt who always gets picked last in teams. He changed, though, and he was truly hoping for a better environment at this new school. Of course, paradises never seemed to actually materialize.

"I'm going to call you Oliver, if that's okay."

The boy suddenly frowned, and shook his head adamantly. "No. Call me Piggy."

Ralph raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Everyone calls me that," Piggy explained hurriedly, wiping his glasses on his shirt. "Trust me. You're better off doing what I told you to do." He put the glasses on again, and peered at Ralph. "Ralph... right? What grade are you in?"

Ralph was surprised to see how easily the matter of that degrading nickname was brushed away. "Um, I'll be starting my sixth year at Baxton."

"Well, that makes two of us," Piggy huffed, seemingly rather pleased. "I can lend you some notes; I got these from last year's students and I've spent the summer reviewing them—"

"Er, thanks," Ralph muttered. He wasn't used to classmates who were this excited about academics. "But, um, if you don't mind me asking – I still don't understand why you want to be called _Piggy_."

Piggy gave him a weary look. "It's nothing. My aunt always said that – 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me'." Piggy's eyes sparked proudly as he recited it. "And that's just what 'Piggy' is – a silly word made up by teenagers acting like a crowd of _kids_. I'm not bothered by it at all."

The spite in his voice betrayed his confession, but Ralph didn't prod any further. He was scared of angering Piggy, and making a bad impression on the only person he knew in this school was definitely not the smartest move. "That's very nice of you," Ralph complimented, and Piggy's expression brightened. "Can you show me around once we get there?"

Piggy nodded enthusiastically. "Well, the welcoming committee usually shows the new students around, but I can give you some detailed overview about the classrooms, and the teacher's offices – oh, and I definitely know more about the library! You have to visit it. It has a really great collection of books, videos, journals—" Piggy rambled on, spelling out the many assortment of goods in the library while explaining in broad detail how he would spend evenings and nights holed up in his 'secret spot'. "But you have to be careful not to go past curfew," Piggy said, sternly. "You have to obey the rules at all times. The Head Boy, the prefects – you have to respect all of them."

Ralph wasn't new to the idea of prefects and head boys. His old school had boys and girls assigned to those positions – but most of them considered the title a joke and were very lax with rules. Moreover, Ralph's old school wasn't a boarding school where these student officials monitor the others 24/7. Yet again, he found himself in face with something that is new and unfamiliar, and the thought made Ralph nervous. But he tried to keep cool. "Who's the Head Boy this year?"

"W—Well," Piggy started, huffing as he reached for his glasses and wiped them for the umpteenth time. Ralph could see that the lenses needed no such thorough cleansing. "A seventh-year student is always the Head Boy, but the school board won't announce anything until the first week of school, usually during the chapel service. It – it would most likely be him though, with his perfect record and all..." Piggy's cryptic words faltered as he replaced his glasses. "It's not important. We'll know soon enough anyway."

Then Piggy began to explain about the rules, the courses, the grading policies, and Ralph tried hard to keep up with Piggy's excitement. He knew Piggy meant well, but he couldn't help but be bored by the boy's numerous advices on 'active learning' and 'note-taking'. He had tried to change the topic by asking questions about Piggy's life, and found some trivial bits about him living with his aunt (parents are doctors in the warzone) and having asthma, but that's about it. Their conversation for the past hour had endlessly reverted back to the magnificence of Baxton's academics and facilities; Piggy seemed to be unable to process things outside these aspects – or rather, he was actively avoiding them.

"Look!" Piggy suddenly cried. His exclamation was mirrored by numerous voices, echoing the same word from the other compartments. Ralph snapped his head to the window and saw the peak of a tower looming over the dense woods. "That's the North Tower."

Ralph blinked. He was looking straight at the building where he would be living for the next two years. That was how the dormitories at Baxton worked – there were four towers and each student would be sorted into one for the rest of their time in the academy. He felt strangely vacant about the prospect of living somewhere foreign. All the fear and nervousness had dissipated into apathy.

"We'll be stopping soon," Piggy told him. "The welcoming committee should be at the station, so you can get acquainted with the campus immediately."

The woods from beyond the window receded, revealing a grand landscape shot of gothic architecture and green courtyards as the train moved onwards with alarming speed. Ralph watched the towers, the ramparts, the dot-like figures running around the picturesque area. His stomach churned with both awe and trepidation.

"Well then, uh, welcome to Baxton, Ralph." Piggy smiled. "You'll enjoy your time here."

Ralph nodded. _Fingers crossed. _

**A/N: Hello. I'm going to say that Inhuman is officially on hiatus – I don't have the creative juices to continue that story anymore. I'm so sorry.**

**But walah – on the ashes of old ideas comes a new one! I originally had a bigger, more complex backstory to this Baxton Academy storyline, but I stashed it so that I can have more fun with the boys' lives in a boarding school. Just to be clear – this happens in an AU world where the island incident never happened. Though I've been tempted to try an after-the-island take on this, I decided not to. There have been a LOT of stories like that, and amazing ones, too, like Retribution and Bad Days. I just don't think I can bring anything original to that trope anymore. **

**Also, I made it an all boys' school because I can't find any space for OC girl characters. Expect a lot of drama in later chapters – don't worry, I'm not going to take the savagery out of these boys. In fact, expect a lot of it. I hope you guys can bear with this slow intro chapter, and please shoot me some reviews about your thoughts! I would love to hear your opinions, especially about my take on Piggy. **

**Fun stuff: Try to parallel this story with the original LoTF **** Also, I made various references to many films/games/books in my chapters, so feel free to guess which plot points I totally ripped off.**


End file.
